1. act of coming into view; impression, semblance. appearance\ap*pear"ance\ , n. [f. apparence, l. apparentia, fr. apparere. see:
appear.].
2. the act of appearing or coming into sight; the act of becoming visible to the eye; as, his sudden appearance surprised me.
3. a thing seed; a phenomenon; a phase; an apparition; as, an appearance in the sky.
4. personal presence; exhibition of the person; look; aspect; mien. and now am come to see:
it thy appearance answer loud report.
5. semblance, or apparent likeness; external show. pl. outward signs, or circumstances, fitted to make a particular impression or to determine the judgment as to the character of a person or a thing, an act or a state; as, appearances are against him. there was upon the tabernacle, as it were, the appearance of fire. ix.
6. for man looketh on the outward appearance. xvi.
7. judge not according to the appearance. vii.
8. 5. the act of appearing in a particular place, or in society, a company, or any proceedings; a coming before the public in a particular character; as, a person makes his appearance as an historian, an artist, or an orator. will he now retire, after appearance, and again prolong our expectation?.
9. probability; likelihood. [obs.] there is that which hath no appearance.
10. (law) the coming into court of either of the parties; the being present in court; the coming into court of a party summoned in an action, either by himself or by his attorney, expressed by a formal entry by the proper officer to that effect; the act or proceeding by which a party proceeded against places himself before the court, and submits to its jurisdiction. l.
11. The act of appearing or coming into sight; the act of becoming visible to the eye; as, his sudden appearance surprised me.
12. A thing seed; a phenomenon; a phase; an apparition; as, an appearance in the sky.
13. Personal presence; exhibition of the person; look; aspect; mien.
14. Semblance, or apparent likeness; external show. pl.
15. Outward signs, or circumstances, fitted to make a particular impression or to determine the judgment as to the character of a person or a thing, an act or a state; as, appearances are against him.
16. The act of appearing in a particular place, or in society, a company, or any proceedings; a coming before the public in a particular character; as, a person makes his appearance as an historian, an artist, or an orator.
17. Probability; likelihood.
18. The coming into court of either of the parties; the being present in court; the coming into court of a party summoned in an action, either by himself or by his attorney, expressed by a formal entry by the proper officer to that effect; the act or proceeding by which a party proceeded against places himself before the court, and submits to its jurisdiction. the act of appearing in public view; "the rookie made a brief appearance in the first period"; "it was Bernhardt's last appearance in America" pretending that something is the case in order to make a good impression; "they try to keep up appearances"; "that ceremony is just for show" formal attendance of a party in an action outward or visible aspect of a person or thing a mental representation; "I tried to describe his appearance to the police" the event of coming into sight.
19. 1. When someone makes an appearance at a public event or in a broadcast, they take part in it. It was the president's second public appearance to date Keegan made 68 appearances in two seasons for Southampton, scoring 37 times.
20. Someone's or something's appearance is the way that they look. She used to be so fussy about her appearance.
21. The appearance of someone or something in a place is their arrival there, especially when it is unexpected. The sudden appearance of a few bags of rice could start a riot.
22. The appearance of something new is its coming into existence or use. Fears are growing of a cholera outbreak following the appearance of a number of cases in the city.
23. If something has the appearance of a quality, it seems to have that quality. We tried to meet both children's needs without the appearance of favoritism or unfairness.
24. If something is true to all appearances, from all appearances, or by all appearances, it seems from what you observe or know about it that it is true. He was a small and to all appearances an unassuming man.
25. If you keep up appearances, you try to behave and dress in a way that people expect of you, even if you can no longer afford it. His parents' obsession with keeping up appearances haunted his childhood.
26. If you put in an appearance at an event, you go to it for a short time although you may not really want to, but do not stay. = show your face.